Each ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 Episode Will Cost an Insane Amount

The final six Game of Thrones episodes are no time to skimp – whether on budget or story – and it seems HBO is going all-out. Reports estimate that Season 8 episodes might cost around $15 million (each!), if not more.

Variety put together a wide report on prestige TV costs these days, the HBO side of which naturally skews more expensive with lengthy productions for Thrones and Westworld. The final six are currently estimated to cost around $15 million apiece (Vanity Fair suggests the true cost might be much higher); a marked increase from other abnormally-expensive series with $10-12 million budgets.

A higher budget for the final season makes a great deal of sense, as effects and production for snowy battles between dragons, giants, wolves and undead armies will only increase with the story’s end. Not only that, but Season 7 didn’t exactly cull the ranks of the show’s expansive cast, who themselves grow more expensive over time.